Consolidating student loans will put all your existing loans into the Federal Direct Loan Program with the Department of Education. You will only have to worry about one payment instead of multiple payments. This makes it easier to manage your debt. Further, within this program there are options that can help make payments more affordable to certain borrowers and may forgive some portion of the loan balance at the end of the loan term.

Will my payment be reduced?Back to Top
In many cases yes, your payment in the new consolidated loan can be lower than your current payment. There are multiple plans to repay your student loan, one of which is the Income Based Repayment Plan. This allows your payment to be based on your annual income, which often times will allow you to qualify for a very small payment and in some cases even a payment amount of zero.

Borrowers must have at least one Direct Loan of Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) that is in grace, repayment, deferment, or default status to qualify. Loans that are in-school status cannot be included in the Federal Loan Forgiveness Program.

If you are in default, you can consolidate under the Income Contingent Repayment Play or Income Based Repayment Plan.

If you are already consolidated but have one loan which is not, you can add that one loan into the consolidation.

Can consolidate my loans or apply for government programs myself?Back to Top

Yes. You can certainly contact the Department of Education and see what programs you qualify for and apply. We find that many consumers prefer to work with our company since we have expertise work on their behalf to educate them about the programs available to them and streamline the process to get them in the pest programs for their situation.

Yes you can consolidate your Perkins Loan into the Direct Consolidation Loan if you include at least one Direct Loan or Federal Family Educational Loan (FFEL). Perkins Loan cannot be included by themselves. There are some disadvantages to consolidating your Perkins Loan so you should consider them prior to consolidating them.

• You will lose your cancelation benefits, such as performing public services.

Yes, you can consolidate certain health professions loans sponsored through the U.S Department of Health and Human Services with other Federal Education Loans. You must still include at least one Direct Loan or Federal Family Education Loan to qualify.

Eligible Health Professions:

• Health Professions Student Loans (HPSL)

• Health Education Assistance Loans (HEAL)

• Loans for Disadvantaged Students (LDS)

• Nursing Student Loans (NSL)

Benefits of consolidating these loans would include lowering your monthly payment, having a longer repayment period, and having one single monthly payment.

Will consolidating clear the default notation from my credit?Back to Top
No, if you want to clear the default notation, you will need to contact your loan holder to discuss rehabilitation with them. If you decide to consolidate while in default, your default notation in your credit will also show that the loan was paid off in full. This notation will remain on your credit history for seven years.

What are the repayment plans?Back to Top
There are several repayment plans in the Federal Loan Forgiveness Programs:

• Standard Repayment Plan

You will pay a fixed amount each month until your loans are paid in full. Your monthly payment will be at least $50 for up to 10-30 years, based upon your total education indebtedness (loan amounts).

• Graduated Repayment Plan

Your minimum payment amount will be at least equal to the amount of interest accrued monthly. Your payments start out low, and then increase every two years for up to 10-30 years and is based on your total education indebtedness (loan amounts).

• Extended Repayment Plan

To be eligible, your Direct Loan balance must be greater than $30,000 and you will have up to 25 years to repay your loans. You have two payment options:

– Fixed Monthly Payment Option: You will pay a fixed amount each month until your loans are paid in full.

– Graduated Monthly Payment Options: Your minimum payment amount will be at least $50 or the amount of interest accrued monthly, whichever is
greater. Your payment start off low and then increase every two years.

• Income Contingent Repayment Plan (ICR)

Your monthly payments will be based on annual income, Direct Loan balance, and family size. They are spread over a term of 25 years.

• Income-Based Repayment Plan (IBR)

Your monthly payments will be based on your annual income and family size, and spread over 25 years. You must be experiencing a partial financial hardship to initially select this plan and once you select this plan you cannot change to any other plan except standard.

For more in-depth information on the repayment plans, please see our Repayment Plans page

Yes, most borrowers can change their repayment plan at any time once consolidated. Borrowers who are in the ICR plan must make at least 3 consecutive payments into the Direct Consolidation Loan account before changing to another plan. There is no limit to how many times you can change. Borrowers in the IBR plan can only change into the Standard Repayment Plan.

Disclaimer

This site does not negotiate, adjust or settle debts. All federal student borrowers are able and encouraged to apply for any federal repayment or forgiveness programs through the US Department of Education for free without paying fees to any entity. Nothing on this site constitutes official qualification or guarantee of result. All telephone numbers listed connect to 3rd party private companies not controlled by Student Debt Relief offering fee-based services to assist with application preparation for federal student loan and other programs.

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Please note: Only the US Department of Education can provide determination of eligibility and exact payment amount for any government forgiveness or repayment program listed on this website. Also, all forgiveness and re-payment programs may be applied to for free without paying anyone for assistance through the US Department of Education. Our calculators, estimators and eligibility tools are strictly to help consumers understand potential options estimate potential payments and do not provide any guarantee of enrollment, qualification, or payment amount for ANY programs.